Who doesn’t love a good Rusk? And if they are healthy rusks…. even a better reason to enjoy them with a good cup of coffee.
I don’t know if this is just a South African thing, but there are very few things that beats a good tasting rusk with your morning coffee…
I know in our house we can not get enough. It’s almost like a habit.
Switch on the kettle…
make your coffee…
grab a rusk or two…
and relax while dunking the rusk in your cup of coffee.
Now if you want to make the above “habit” perfect… add a nice sunrise somewhere in the bush while camping…. Aaaa… Now that’s just perfect.
What is a Rusk?
Now for those who doesn’t know what a rusk is. Let me explain.
In short – a rusk is hard, dry biscuit or bread.That is baked twice. The first baking time is to let the batter rise and bake, while the second baking time is on a much lower heat for 5 -6 hours or even overnight.
Way back when they use to preserve bread this way, especially when travelling long distances. Today we still enjoy this piece of heritage as a morning breakfast or even just a snack. Dunking your rusk in a hot cup of coffee or tea just makes it amazing. You will find all sorts of different rusks at bakeries all over South Africa. And believe me. Not one persons rusk tastes the same as the others. We all have our little special ingredients that we like to add. Maybe you are familiar with our most famous rusk that are widely exported : Ouma Rusks. (p.s. This translates to Grandma Rusks)
So this is my take on a good rusk. It’s a little bit healthier than some other ones out there, but the taste is out of this world.
I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think.
Oh yes, If you would like to try another good Traditional South African dish. Why not make a delicious milk tart for dessert?
This recipe makes +/- 70 pieces, depending on the size you cut them.
Healthy Rusks
Ingredients
1 kg Wholewheat flour
500 ml self-raising flour
250 ml Bran
45 ml baking powder
5 ml salt
15 ml Cinnamon, grounded
10 ml Ginger, grounded
750 ml muesli
500 ml Brown sugar
250 ml Mix seeds ( a mixture of pumpkin, sesame, flax and sunflower seeds)
750 ml Full cream milk
30 ml white vinegar
4 extra large eggs
500 g butter, Melted + extra for greasing
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Grease a large square pan (Roughly 45 cm X 45 cm) and set aside.
In a very large bowl mix together the wholewheat flour, self raising flour, bran, baking powder, salt and brown sugar.
In a small bowl mix the white vinegar and milk together. The milk will start to thicken. Set aside.
Beat the eggs well and add to the thickened milk. Stir well, now add the melted butter and stir again.
Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix well until a dough is formed. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tin and even the top out.
Place in the oven and bake for 60 minutes or until golden brown. Test the cake/bread to see if it’s done by inserting a testing skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, it is baked. Now remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
Drying the healthy rusks
Change the heat of the oven to 70 ˚C.
Cut the cake/bread into rectangular strips of about 10 cm X 5 cm. Lay them flat onto a cookie tray. Make sure that there is some space between each rusk. This way the air can flow between the rusks and will allow them to dry thoroughly.
Place the cookie sheets into the cool oven , and allow to dry for around 5 -6 hours, or even overnight. The rusks are done once they are completely dry and hard.
Remove form the oven and allow to cool off completely. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
